Classics without tears

The Internet archives is a treasure for stay at homes like myself. 

I've sent them donations a few times, and recommend you do the same: They have greatly expanded their library there, and of course, they also include the "wayback machine" to check for older, often removed web posts.

most of their books are for borrowing (free registration) but some of the older best sellers that are hard to find elsewhere due to copyright issues are posted by the Library of India or other sites.

and since many of their listings include torrent links, you can download them via bittorrent while you surf the net.

Librivox is one place to find free dictated books, either at their web site, on you tube, or on the Archives.

But a small selection of audiobooks can be found at internet archives.

 For example, this link and this link has newer audiobooks for your listening pleasure 

and lots of BBC radio shows for your listening pleasure.

 But today the OnLine books page has a link to the old Classic Comic books that they have there. 

For example, here is Don Quixote

much easier to read than that long long book.

Back when I was in high school, this was the way most of the kids managed to figure out the plots, by reading these classic comic books, including those listed here.

I was an avid reader but I hated most of the books we were assigned: part of the reason is that we were not given background information that made them easy to understand, and no, we never discussed the ideas behind the books that were the reason they were considered "classics"... 

Maybe the problem was bad English teachers, but all I know is that I ended up hating all the books I was forced to read back then.

Have things improved? Not really. My granddaughter was forced to read "Modern" classics such as  "Beloved" which she was forced to get through in her class.

Yes, I know, it's a classic... and well written. But the dirty little truth is that it is as boring as hell. Of course, I thought Great Expectations was boring too...

but luckily for today's students, they don't need comic books: Lots of discussion of books on Youtube so you understand what the author is trying to tell you.

duh.

I also pay for the book service at Scribd.

They have most of the recent best sellers that I like to read,  and often have them as audiobooks.

Since I often fall asleep during audiobooks, usually I read novels and listen to history etc. as audiobooks, where it doesn't matter if you miss a chapter or two.

Right now, I am listening to VDHanson's book the Second World Wars: I play it in the background when I do other things, because it is quite technical. And the next one I plan to listen to is The Boundless Sea, which from reviews sounds interesting.

of course, you can still buy books if you like.

We used to have used book kiosks here, but not anymore: you have to go to larger towns to find used books, or buy them full price at the National book store.

one of the problems is that years ago they had a cheap book rate to send books overseas, mainly for donations to schools etc. but someone noticed that Chinese merchants were sending used books to sell, and they made a profit. How dare they!

but what the anti profit types didn't realize is that middle class types could not afford news books so bought these used books. (A similar problem comes up about used clothing: the westerners hate it and see it as undermining local industry, but that's how we buy decent quality clothing in our town, the alternative is expensive clothing at the mall, paying a seamstress to make a dress for you, or to buy cheap fall apart Chinese stuff).

and the local books such as they use for school, are often with cheaper paper that deteriorates quickly from the heat and humidity.

Sigh.